2020-21 Regular season- The tax team

[Xiao Yao You]

Eric Walden: Mike Conley, on the challenge of guarding Trae Young: “Obviously, the skillset he has and how he can stretch the floor and get them going [is impressive]. … We’ve got to limit the easy ones, make him make tough shots, make others beat us.”
– via Twitter tribjazz



Eric Walden: Conley, on the Jazz’s struggles inside on offense: “As much as we want to shoot 3s, we still need to focus on the rim and getting to the basket and making layups and finishing our dunks — things that we know we can do — and not get so caught up in only shooting 3s.”
– via Twitter tribjazz

[Xiao Yao You]

https://kslsports.com/450910/jazz-an...stponed-games/

Friday’s key matchup will pit the Jazz Bojan Bogdanovic against the Hawks Collins. Bogdanovic has struggled so far this season but showed signs of life recently, crossing the 20 point scoring mark in two of the Jazz last three games.

showed signs of life with a brace for the 2nd time. Will he wear it is the question?

Collins presents a tough matchup for Bogdanovic on the defensive end with his ability to attack the rim and spread the floor. The fourth-year forward is one of the better athletes in the NBA, and knocks down an impressive 39 percent of his 3.3 three-point attempts this season.

who doesn't present a tough matchup? Doubt he spends much time on Collins. They usually try to hide him defensively. Royce will try to cover Trae and Collins somehow though Rudy might spend time on Collins

[Xiao Yao You]

https://www.deseret.com/sports/2021/...season-lessons

“When we get into the paint, you take possessions where you’re thinking, ‘I’m gonna go score’ and then last second you’re trying to pass, and it’s the unselfishness at times that’s getting us and it’s the uncertainty,” Mitchell said. “Driving with a purpose, getting to the rim and if you don’t have anything, come to two feet, come to a stop. Just being sure. I think that’s where a lot of our turnovers come from.”

mostly you. You need to learn the search dribble. Conley is good at it. He doesn't force stuff that isn't there

There are also the careless and lazy turnovers committed and those are easier to clean up, but it’s notable that Mitchell is recognizing where some of the more mental mistakes are coming from and the need for more purpose and steadfast decision-making on drives.

the careless and lazy ones are the worst. Get rid of those and you're probably looking ok

If there’s one overarching lesson from this road trip, it’s that the Jazz play their best when everyone is engaged on defense, and that moving forward, it’s important to recognize the difference between having that presence and not.

Not just Rudy and Royce can be engaged?

[Xiao Yao You]

https://saltcityhoops.com/clarks-rem...ans-struggles/

Okay, fine. The Jazz aren’t going to start Gobert and Favors together. It’s not unreasonable. But at the same time, they should be playing together every game, even if it’s only for a few minutes. The big men have only shared the floor for 13 minutes so far this season and 9 minutes of that was against the Bucks when they skewed all stats in their favor by allowing only 68 points per 100 possessions. Stifling.

it's sad that that is the only option for playing big besides Morgan and you know that won't happen unless Snyder's hand is forced

The problem for the Jazz is that they don’t look elite on either side of the ball right now. They are about 13th in offensive efficiency and 8th defensively, depending on which site you trust. If Gobert and Favors are going to crush teams defensively, it is worth exploring, even at the cost of the offense. Playing them together clogs up the offense, but if you have guys like Conley, Mitchell, and Clarkson, who can shoot threes off the bounce, or find their way to the basket, anyhow, then it’s going to be a net positive lineup. On top of that, the Jazz are grabbing 50% of all offensive rebounds while the bigs play together and 89% of the defensive boards. That is great on both accounts. Those numbers were 29% and 80% when they played together 2 years ago. Opponents are also playing smaller nowadays and punishing them on the offensive boards might be the exact wrinkle this average offense needs.

Who cares of the D is elite if the Favors is being left alone in the corner again? Need to look to get better defensively without Favor at the 4. Rather that is possible or not is doubtful

Okay, Royce actually has several jobs on the Jazz. He’s a terrific role player and a great benefit to the team, but offensively Royce O’Neale should have only one job and that is to just shoot the ball with reckless abandon. Nobody in the NBA has had more open catch and shoot 3 point opportunities than Royce O’Neale according to basketball index. He’s open all of the time. So how does he only average 3.5 three point attempts per game over that time period?

agree there

But last season Bojan shot 40.5% (61-150) from the field and 28% (19-68) from 3 over a ten game period from December 19 to January 8th. Bojan only played 63 games last season but was still able to bring his average shooting numbers up to 45% and 41% for the year. His ability to single handedly carry the offense with electric shooting, is unique. I’d expect him to do the same the rest of this season.

don't remember him being this awful. I'd guess his shots at least looked good then. He's looked bad

[Xiao Yao You]

Adrian Wojnarowski: Significant discussion on league’s call with general managers today about expanding rosters by allowing a third two-way contract slot this season, sources tell ESPN. That’ll have to be worked out with NBPA, but there’s momentum toward it.
– via Twitter wojespn

good idea. Should let teams add as many guys as they want or need. Salary cap and luxury tax would keep it from getting out of hand. Many were only carrying 14 regular contracts as it was

[Xiao Yao You]

Chase Hughes: GM Tommy Sheppard says maybe in makeup games will have their locations adusted, for example when they go to Utah, play the Jazz twice.
– via Twitter ChaseHughesNBCS

Extra home game might not necessarily be good for the Jazz

[Xiao Yao You]

https://kslsports.com/451003/jazz-vs-hawks-game-night/

“The first thing would be just to let us use our two-way players,” Snyder said. “We have a limit on the amount of days that we can actually use guys. So, what’s happening now is that you’re essentially preserving those days, so that if something happens with an injury or particularly a COVID situation.”

which is what is happening with Brantley. He's usually inactive

[Xiao Yao You]

https://kslsports.com/451033/451033/

Now, it looks like Miye Oni has earned that spot. With Joe Ingles missing his third game in the last four outings, Oni appears to be the go-to option for Snyder.

it's looked that way all along

The Yale product finished with six points on 2-5 shooting from the three-point line and was a +10 in 18 total minutes on the floor. The Jazz entered the season with a loaded rotation, knowing it was going to be hard to find minutes for the young players, but Oni has made the most of his minutes and looks like he’ll have a role on the team in future seasons.

loaded? We knew after the bubble when they really needed some help that the youung guys wouldn't be getting much time unless forced

[Xiao Yao You]

https://www.deseret.com/sports/2021/...anta-hawks-nba

Miye Oni has been given more of an opportunity with Joe Ingles missing some time because of a sore right Achilles, and Oni is proving more and more that he deserves a spot in the rotation. He had some rough minutes in the preseason, but as he’s gained more time on the court he’s started to look really comfortable and ready to shoot whenever given the chance.

He's been ok. He hustles anyway. Would like to see what Shaq and Morgan can do though

While there are some centers that give Rudy Gobert some trouble, Clint Capella is not one of them.

[Xiao Yao You]

https://www.slcdunk.com/2021/1/15/22...nley-nba-recap

Utah held Trae Young to 1/11 shooting from the field. It was a tough night for Young whose numbers have dipped this season. Utah threw multiple defenders at Young and would press and double team him to get the ball out of his hands and it threw him off his rythm. If Utah wants success against other elite scoring guards in the future, they should try this strategy again because it worked.

might not work against others but it is nice to see Snyder actually try something different for a change

Gobert shot 50% from the free throw line tonight, an improvement as well from his recent tough stretch, but the Jazz will take that as well. Gobert, to be the efficiency monster that he is, will need to get that back to just under 70%. We’ve seen him do that before so there’s no reason not to expect it.

we've never seen him close to 70%. Low 60's is expected though

Donovan has looked much more in rhythm and confident the last few games. Maybe it was just the "otherness" of this season, but he seems to have found his groove. He’s playing smarter and just overall really well.

Posted by PianoGuy13 on Jan 15, 2021 | 10:39 PM

always starts slow

At worst he’s an elite spot up shooter for us. Favors did look a step behind on defense tonight. I hope hes not bothered by injury too much and he gets rest if he needs it. Lastly I love how fearless clarkson is. Hes got no memory for bad plays or poor shooting. He just keeps firing and eventually lights it up. Going scoreless for the half would bother most players. Look at trae on the other side only having like 2 pts at half.

He continued to struggle throughout the game. But clarkson came in with that supreme swag and confidence and got 4 3s. Getting near his average again. The man is gonna get his. Big time player.

Posted by JazzHands2017 on Jan 16, 2021 | 12:39 AM

at worst he's an expensive spot shooter that does little else

[Xiao Yao You]

https://sircharlesincharge.com/2021/...d-trip-gobert/

Utah Jazz takeaway: The offense has the potential to be great

anything less would be disappointing. All about the D right now

What’s interesting is the Jazz are also crashing the offensive glass more – they’re offensive rebounding 25 percent more than last year and rank in the the top five in that category. It’s a little concerning that they’re not getting to the foul line as much as they did last year, but if they shoot threes like they did against Milwaukee and Cleveland, that shouldn’t be a problem. Overall, this offense has all the makings of becoming an unstoppable force.

probably not getting to the line as much if you're taking more 3's

The current construct of the Utah Jazz is almost perfect, as they have players that fit specific roles needed for success. However, Utah’s weakness reared its ugly face in a big way in the Big Apple – perimeter defense.

almost perfect as long as we don't count perimeter D!

With both Mitchell and Conley being undersized guards, there’s not a whole lot of length and elite athleticism to shut down scoring guards. Royce O’Neale is the primary defender, and to his credit he’s one of the better defenders in the NBA. He’s done great jobs defending bigger wings like Kawhi Leonard, Paul George, Jimmy Butler, and Jayson Tatum. O’Neale can use his strong 6-foot-5 to get into those players while still able keep up with those guys around the court.

plenty of length and elite athleticism. Mitchell just sucks at D and Royce is trying to be a PF and perimeter stopper in one

The construct of this team is still vulnerable to scoring guards that Royce can’t slow down or stop. I’m by no means saying Utah to replace Royce O’Neale, an elite defender and above-average rebounder who plays with high energy and doesn’t use up too many possessions on the offensive end. Instead, I would hope Snyder might consider give 5-10 minutes to other athletic defenders (Shaq Harrison, Miye Oni, Jarrell Brantley) in attempt to solve this elite scoring guard riddle. That might spell O’Neale a few minutes a night, while also giving other teams a different look.

Spell Bojan please with anyone. Could play Morgan so O'Neale doesn't have to play the 4 as well as be the stopper

Some of this could be due to his age (he turned 33 recently) but I think a lot of it is adjusting back from injury. Shooting requires touch and feel it seems that recovery from his thumb injury might have messed with his shooting stroke.

wrist

The other thing that might be driving this is the opponent’s defensive schemes. Teams are no longer letting lock down of it you get that in transaction 3-point shot then savvy defenders are hugging him around the yard so he’s not getting his many wide open looks as he’s used to.

getting plenty of open looks not that he needs them when he's playing well

The Jazz have a defensive rating of 103 when Rudy is on the floor, and a 117 when he’s off the floor. They outscore opponents by seven points per 100 possessions when Gobert is on the floor. When Rudy is on the floor, teams can no longer attack the rim unless they drive unimpeded from the perimeter. He deters every shot within 8 feet of the rim and gobbles up all the rebounds.

that can't be right. They don't lose anything with Favors!

He may not be the best center in the game and there is a valid argument against paying him the max money. But he’s not a max-level player, he’s pretty darn close. Rudy is the best defender in the planet – plain and simple. People need to stop with this fixation with surface level stats. You can impact the outcome of the game in ways other than scoring, and Rudy does a bunch of those at an all-NBA level.

if he's not a max layer who is? Certainly not Mitchell

Gobert will never be an offensive dynamo, but whoever said he needed to be? He’s the best of what he does – no one else can do when he does, and the Jazz would not be in a position to win 50 games without him.

be lucky to win 30

[Xiao Yao You]

Michael Singer: Gary Harris is off the Nuggets’ injury report, and he should be good to go tomorrow vs. Utah. MPJ (health and safety) and Greg Whittington (knee) are both still out.
– via Twitter msinger

[Xiao Yao You]

Ben Anderson: Jazz injury report against the Nuggets. Jazz Injury Report: Joe Ingles – OUT (right Achilles soreness) Juwan Morgan – OUT (health and safety protocols) Derrick Favors – PROBABLE (right knee soreness)
– via Twitter BensHoops

[Xiao Yao You]

https://www.slcdunk.com/2021/1/17/22...view-game-time

Jokic and Mike Conley top 538’s analytical leaderboard for best player in the NBA. I knew Conley was having a great season, but it is surprising to see him up so high on the list.

knew he was in top two on team for sure. Rudy only at 16. You suck man!

Conley is a +5.7 on D. Is that a reflection of sharing the court with Gobert? Or is Conley just stepping it up big time this season? Either way, Conley has been legit this season and Jazz fans should feel luck to have him.

he's been a lot better on D this year. Rudy certainly has something to do with it though

Kudos to the Utah Jazz organization for always standing by their decision to trade for Mike Conley, especially when he struggled at the beginning of his Jazz tenure. If Conley had made the game winning 3, in game 7, we would be talking about Conley as a living legend.

too bad the greatness of Exum prevented them from doing it sooner. The team would look a lot different now

I thought the Jazz struggled mightily against Denver in the playoffs last year whenever the Jazz had to rely on anyone not named Gobert in the middle. Obviously, Ed Davis wasn’t who we thought he was, and, well, maybe Tony Bradley was exactly who we thought he was. Anyway, neither of them could stop the Nuggets while Gobert was on the bench.

time to quit blaming everything on Tony. Favors hasn't been much better. Certainly not 30 million better

Grant was huge for the Nuggets in the playoffs last year. Frankly, I’m surprised they let him go. He’s averaging 25 points per game while shooting 54 eFG%.

they offered him the same amount. He wanted out. Craig is the one that made little sense to me

For the Nuggets, Michael Porter is still out for COVID-19 protocols. They could also be without Gary Harris, who missed the previous 2 games for personal reason.

Harris supposed to play

[Kings2024Champs]

Capped out and destined for another 5-7 seed.. hang in there, its gonna be a long decade. Please consider getting some help, your ISH fam is worried